McGhee knows how a cup final buzz can carry over into an Auld Enemy clash – he netted in a 1-1 draw with England in the final Home International meeting in 1984, seven days after scoring a Hampden winner for Aberdeen against Celtic.

So he feels the confidence of the Celtic players can lift the Scots, telling Press Association Sport: “I think that’s important. That’s why we played the six lads: they brought a confidence and an understanding between each other which added something to the team.

“Like you said, I scored the goal in the cup final and a week later I scored against England so hopefully that’s an omen. I definitely went into that match confident and I’m sure they will too.

“Last time out we saw their energy and their enthusiasm and the confidence obviously, but there was another advantage too, in that you feel as if the players are connected. They have an understanding of each other’s game, whether it’s the midfield players linking with Griff up front for example.

“That’s an attribute that is hard to bring that to a team when you have a week to work with them.”

Celtic came through one of their toughest tests of the season in the cup final to beat Aberdeen 2-1 after falling behind early on.

“It was a different sort of game for Celtic,” the former Motherwell manager said. “They had to dig in and roll up their sleeves because of the way Aberdeen played. The first half in particular I thought Stuart Armstrong was brilliant. He was the one that kept them going and tried to get their game up a gear.”

:: Mark McGhee was speaking at the McDonald’s & Scottish FA Community Football Day in Strathaven, encouraging youngsters to play football at a grassroots level and celebrating Quality Mark clubs in the area. For more information visit www.mcdonalds.co.uk/betterplay